Last Friday, Richard Russell, a ground service agent of Horizon Air managed to steal an empty Q400 turboprop plane from his employer, taxi down the runway and take off before performing dramatic loops in the two engine plane.
After being pursued by military jets, the 60 minute drama ended with Russell crashing into a wooded area of a nearby island in the Puget Sound, in spite of air traffic control’s best attempts to encourage Russell to land the aircraft safely. Despite chasing Russell through the skies, the military are believed to have had no involvement with the crash, with the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office tweeting that the outcome was a result of “doing stunts in air or lack of flying skills.” Human remains have been found at the crash site, expected to be Russell.
The incident at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on Friday evening has astounded the world as it appears that 29 year old Russell performed the dramatic aerial stunts without a pilots licence, telling air traffic control that he has “played video games before” so he knew what he was doing “a little bit.”
Alaska Air CEO, Brad Tilden said, “There were some maneuvers that were done that were incredible maneuvers” and “I don’t know how he achieved the experience that he did.”
“I don’t know how he achieved the experience that he did.”
Horizon Air CEO, Gary Beck, added that commercial aircraft were “complex machines,” adding to the mystery of how Russell managed to do what he did.
The incident has exposed a gap in airline security and safety measures, though a Port of Seattle official has claimed that “all security protocols were handled appropriately” and that it was a “one in a million experience.”
Commissioner, Courtney Gregoire said Russell was in uniform, had a security badge, had clearance to be in secure aircraft areas and was subject to background checks. However, it is likely to prompt a major review in security measures across the world as Russell still managed to break protocol several times by boarding and towing the aircraft alone.
CNN analyst and former FAA safety inspector David Soucie said, “The fact he was out there by himself, towing the aircraft by himself – then moving the tracker out of the way, so he could get on the aircraft and move. The fact that all of that happened without even being noticed by anyone on the ground service crew, that is just phenomenal to me.”
CNN aviation analyst Justin Green said, “This is going to be a major learning event for the industry.”
However Tilden has hit back at critics saying, “They’re credential employees. They’re there to work on the airplanes. This is aviation in America. The doors of the airplanes are not keyed like a car. There is not an ignition key like a car. The setup in aviation in America is we secure the airfield.”
Highlighting mental health problems
The incident is expected to also highlight the challenges in screening employees in relation to mental health problems. Russell has been considered suicidal after telling air traffic control that he “wasn’t really planning on landing it.”
During the drama, Russell is heard saying in the cockpit, “I got a lot of people that care about me and it’s going to disappoint them to hear that I did this. I would like to apologise to each and every one of them.” He continues, “just a broken guy, got a few screws loose, I guess, never really knew it until now.”
The incident has left Russell’s family confused and devastated. In a statement from his family, they said, “this is a complete shock to us” and “his intent was not to harm anyone. We are devastated by these event, and Jesus is truly the only one holding this family together right now.”
Friday’s incident comes just weeks after the European Union revealed new rules surrounding the health and fitness of crew members, following Andreas Lubitz deliberately crashing an Airbus A320-211 in 2015 and killing all 144 passengers and 6 crew onboard. Russells actions are expected to cause the industry to tighten its rules and regulations across more than just crew members.
After retrieving it from the wreckage, The National Transportation Safety Board will begins it’s analysis of the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder to provide a further insight into the incident.
